


how mikey spent his thanksgiving

by adelfie



Series: mikey's yokai adventures [4]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Family, Friendship, Gen, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:01:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27731941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adelfie/pseuds/adelfie
Summary: A school field trip has unexpected consequences when Mikey's classmate comes back possessed. Human!AU
Series: mikey's yokai adventures [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1654459
Comments: 20
Kudos: 21





	1. ghosts and donuts on a wednesday

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go again! I really wanted to go on one more 'mikey yokai adventure' story before the year ended. lets goooo :)
> 
> Leo - 20 years old, 3rd year of college  
> Raph - 18 years old, gap year before college  
> Donnie - 17 years old, 11th grade  
> Mikey - 14 years old, 9th grade... (my baby is growing up so fast what the heck TT^TT)

There was only one downside, really.

Mikey couldn't feel his toes.

Even with all of his layers — and Leo had forced him to wear extra of basically _everything_ — the crispy cold November wind that billowed around Mikey was totally unrelenting, in both sheer power _and_ desire to turn his butt into an ice-cube. An _ice-butt._ But who needed toes, anyway? The upside made it all _totally_ worth it, one _hundred_ percent. Because the moment he bit into his donut, all his worldly problems faded away into the background and there he was, in sweet, sweet, cinnamon sugar heaven.

_Where have you been all my life, good donut?_ Mikey thought tearfully, the bite in his mouth melting into warmth and happiness. He felt like he was dissolving into all the good things in the universe. Candy. Sugar. Chocolate. Friendship. Laughter. Kindness. No more thoughts, just donut.

_Hmm. Maybe ONE more thought: cider._

Looking up and around the wooden table he sat at on the cider mill eatery deck, Mikey saw they had a stack of cups, but no cider. What a _travesty_. He looked around to fix that, munching on his donut.

Through the wooden pillars of the open barn around them, the big wheel on the side of the mill turned at a slow pace, giving off a constant gentle rumble and splashes of water from the stream it was powered by. Over _that_ sound, however, the lively chatter from the Eastman High School ninth graders filled the mill as students bought donuts and cider from the kitchens, out onto the deck and to their respective tables. Despite the chilling fall day that had seen runny noses, chapped lips, and puffs of breath visible in the air, the atmosphere that surrounded Mikey was… delightfully warm.

So in the spirit of that warmth, Mikey turned to his friends sitting at his table. "Hey, does anyone want hot cider? I can get some from the kitchen."

His entire table — consisting of Lita, Jason, Jennika, Bradford, Fong, and Xever — swiveled their heads to him a the same time, like a group of meerkats who had found their next snack. Mikey almost giggled, reminded of the cute creatures from his biology project last week, but he bit the inside of his cheeks so his friends wouldn't suspect he was comparing them to _Suricata suricatta._

"YES," Bradford roared, stuffing his face with donuts. "YEEEESSSSS."

"Yo, over here too!" Jason said, raising a gloved hand.

"Ditto," Jennika said from Mikey's right, mouth full. Crumbs from the cinnamon sugar donut had fallen onto her thick red wool scarf, the tiny sugar crystals sparkling. "Also these are the best donuts I've ever had, I think."

Enthusiastic agreement filled their table. Mikey hopped up from the table, promising to be back soon.

It was an _awesome_ way to spend the last day before Thanksgiving Break.

_And to think! I didn't even KNOW this was a thing at the beginning of high school!_ Mikey thought in disbelief as he wove his way through and past the tables.

The Peter's Cider Mill field trip was apparently _the_ field trip of the year for freshmen at Eastman High — it was something all the ninth graders looked forward to. So when Mikey had only found out in class two weeks ago, he'd rounded on Donnie — the older brother designated to tell him things about high school — right after they'd been let out for the day, waving the permission slip in his face.

"Sorry, Mikey," Donnie had said after Mikey's ranting about how _out of nowhere_ this trip was, and _why didn't he tell him?_ He had shrugged, his nose in an extremely thick book. "I thought you already knew."

"Already _knew?_ Donnie, I thought going to the same school as my big bro again would keep me informed!"

"I do keep you informed? Last month I gave you a comprehensive list of teachers who have had at least one of us before." Donnie had paused, brow furrowing in thought as they walked home together. "You should _really_ watch out for that one teacher who almost had an aneurysm because of Raph."

"Not _that_ ," Mikey had groaned, even though knowing which teachers had had which Hamato brother was always good to know. "I mean, like, the _cool_ stuff! Field trips are _so_ fun! I would have been _so_ hyped from the very beginning of high school if I'd known there was a cider mill field trip to go on!"

Donnie had rolled his eyes. "It's really not a big deal."

"Blasphemy!"

"You get excited about everything. You go nuts whenever you get a 'good job' sticker on your homework."

"Those stickers are everything to me. _Donnie_ , what _else_ haven't you told me about?"

"I don't know! Maybe read the syllabus."

"Aw, but _you're_ way better than a syllabus."

"Oof. Sap. But anyway, if it makes you happy, you can look forward to the Friendsgiving party we're going to the day after that, on Thanksgiving," Donnie had pointed out. "Back-to-back fun days for you, right?"

"The one Leo was telling us that Usagi invited him to?" Mikey had asked, a lightbulb going off in his head. "Wait, we're invited too?"

"Apparently so."

Mikey had squealed so high that a few onlookers had to glance at them in mild concern. And then Donnie had ended the conversation because he needed to focus on reading from his SAT prep book, so he could "study for standardized testing" so he could "get a good score" and "get into a good college". Extremely boring stuff like that was _Donnie's_ idea of 'fun' and 'cool'. Mikey had had to make sure Donnie didn't wander off the path and walk into a tree a couple of times.

But the day had finally come, and Mikey could finally kick back and enjoy some quality time with his friends before they all headed off to break. He inhaled his last few bites of the donut he was having, already craving another one. Walking into the cider mill kitchen area, where the donuts were being made and served, Mikey spotted a thermoses of hot cider on a table, free to take. Taking a few steps over to the table, he spotted something else — rather, some _one_ else.

With honey blond pigtails peeking out underneath her winter cap, Mikey's best friend Renet stood by the table, near the vents that was blasting out heat. Mikey's own blond curls whooshed up from the warm air, smiling as his cheeks thawed. He hadn't even realized he'd been that cold.

"Hi, Mikey," Renet greeted, breaking into a grin at the sight of him. "What're you up to?"

"Grabbing hot cider for everyone. What're _you_ up to?"

"Warming up! I mean, I came here for like, another donut, but come stand here for a sec, it's _so_ totally nice," Renet said, shuffling over to make space for him.

Mikey stood in line next to her in front of the heater, and felt the warmth envelope him even further. They both sighed in the same happy way, in unison. Then they laughed at their impromptu duet. Renet wiggled her fingers by the vent, which were all red.

Outside through the window of the barn, Mikey could see the other side of Peter's Cider Mill — an open field, with a few trees, and a dirt path that led up to a house that wasn't really a house. From the signs and the other people who were walking there, it was part of the mill attractions. A shop of some kind, just before the field opened into a water creek on the other side. Mikey perked up in interest, wanting to go to the cozy-looking mill shop to check it out.

"A gift shop, I think," Renet said, as if reading his mind. "I think the first floor is a bakery, but the second floor is the gift shop. Lita and Jennika and I were talking about going there after we were done eating. Wanna come with?"

"Dude, I'm down," Mikey said. He hesitated, but then stepped away from the heater and picked up the thermos of cider, pressing it to his chest. He could feel the comfort of the warmness leave him as if the air around was stripping it away. "Ahh… goodbye, heater."

"Goodbye, heater! We love you," Renet whispered dramatically. "Parting is such sweet sorrow!"

"Good night, good night, parting is such sweet sorrow," Mikey recited, trying to remember the lines. "Wait, how does the rest go?"

"I only remember that part, and — ooooh!" Renet gasped, then turned to the heater, romance in her eyes. " _I wish I were thy bird._ "

Maybe it was the fact that Mikey and Renet had inside jokes for most everything nowadays, or just that recently in English class they'd been reading _Romeo and Juliet_ and the timing of Renet's random line was perfect, but Mikey couldn't help but think it was the funniest thing ever.

As he proceeded trying not to die at the hilarity of his best friend trying to woo the heater, he didn't notice someone coming up behind him until they were shoving him hard enough to lose his balance.

"Move it, losers," a familiar voice floated from somewhere above Mikey as his shoulder slammed into the floor, trying to protect the cider thermos from falling open and creating a mess for the workers of the mill.

"Hey!" came Renet's shout. "What the _heck_ , Sav?"

" _Hey, what the heck, Sav? Mee-mee-mee-mee-mee_ ," came a high-pitched unflattering mimicry from the same guy who'd shoved Mikey into the floor. "That's what you sound like, Renet. _All. The. Time._ It's so annoying, just stop talking."

Mikey sat up, the thermos of hot cider still intact. _Whew_. That was a save right there. His older brother Raph, who'd been the star of his football team when he was in high school, would be proud. Well, mad that Mikey was as stable as a twig in a windstorm, but proud that he'd saved the cider. Probably. Mikey didn't exactly understand football.

He stood up with some help from Renet, and brushed himself off. Then looked up. The boy Renet had called 'Sav' stood before them, souring the air with just his presence.

Romero "Call Me By My First Name And I'll Make Your Face Into An Abstract Art Form" Savanti was their fellow ninth grader and class bully, who seemed to tower over both Mikey and Renet even though in reality he just had a few inches on them. Mikey was pretty sure the guy wore something in his shoes for that. His black hair was slicked back with some kind of gel, as it usually was. He wore an expensive-looking coat and a cheap-looking smirk.

And even though he'd just been pushed by this guy, Mikey considered himself pretty lucky. He didn't have the displeasure of sharing any classes with Sav. Renet's situation was different.

"I'm going to tell Simon you're being rude," Renet said to Sav.

Sav snorted. "Sure. Let me know if you get his attention. Because between his dating your mom and working overtime at the museum, my dad doesn't really care what I do."

Mikey winced. Yeah, Renet _definitely_ had it worse.

"Well, he's a chaperone today, so I think I can get his attention. Wanna be grounded, Sav?" Renet asked daringly. "Because I can make that happen."

_Wow, shots fired,_ Mikey thought, noticing how Sav finally looked a little uncomfortable.

"Whatever. I don't care. Your friend was in my way," Sav muttered, and took off, slinking away, leaving his friend Mikey hadn't noticed was standing close behind him.

But now with Sav gone, Mikey could see that this new scowling boy was also in their grade, with dark brown hair, a sun-kissed brown skin tone, and a pair of heterochromic eyes: one blue, one green. He was someone who Mikey had seen quietly hanging around Sav a lot lately, and he struggled to remember his name, since the boy wasn't in any of his classes either. Then it came to him: Woody.

He looked at both Mikey and Renet, then his scowled deepened — Mikey didn't know how, the corners of his mouth were practically at seven and five — as if he didn't like what he was seeing. Then he looked away with a jerk, pouring himself a cup of cider before leaving.

"Weird," Renet said after a second. "He didn't go to middle school with us, right?"

"Yeah, he didn't," Mikey agreed. "So was it just me or did the dude seem… _angry_ with us?"

"No, definitely. Making eye-contact just now felt like an act of violence."

"It really did."

"Yeah." Renet shrugged, as if forgetting about it. "Anyway, you okay?"

"Not a scratch on me, no worries!" Mikey grinned at her. "Nice job dealing with Sav, by the way."

"Think so? Lita and Jennika have been coaching me on how to sound more, like, _assertive_."

"Renet, the girl of many talents."

"Mikey, the boy with the best cider-preservation skills!"

"You _noticed!_ "

As they joined their friends at their table, the others cheered and hot cider was poured for everyone. Mikey got comfortable in his seat again, and grabbed another donut off the tray. As he blissfully took another bite, he almost missed Lita's declaration.

"Mikey's an angel."

"Yes, true," Xever said. "I can confirm."

"Agreed," Fong chimed in.

Mikey smiled, his face heating up.

"He saved the cider from falling over," Renet added for everyone to hear. So naturally, to Mikey's further embarrassment, that made everyone start again.

"Wow," Jason said, nodding at him. "Thanks, man."

" _Literal. Angel,_ " Lita said, smiling at Mikey.

"No it was nothing, Renet helped more," Mikey tried to protest, but Jennika punched him in the arm playfully.

"Stop it. Take the compliment! Why are you so _nice?_ "

Mikey laughed. _Okay, I'm taking it back. My friends aren't meerkats, they're like, aggressive compliment-giving quokkas._ Almost all of his friends, at least. Bradford had left the table at some point.

He sipped his cider and enjoyed the harmony of the fall season. This was nice. There was _nothing_ to worry about. He let himself zone out a little, letting the conversations take place around him.

"I hath returned from the pit of despair," he heard Bradford say, taking a seat.

"What?" Jennika asked.

"He's come back from the bathroom," Xever explained.

"Ew, gross. Bradford," Jennika said with a laugh, her face scrunch up.

"Wait, hold up, my dudes," Bradford said. "Where the heck are all the donuts?"

"Oh," Xever said, a perfectly whole donut in his hand. "I took the last one."

"Fiend! Foe! Give it."

Xever seemed to debate it in his head. Then he looked up at Bradford, and without a word, proceeded to stuff the entire thing in his mouth in one go, not breaking eye contact.

Mikey knew what was coming, and he was the first to put his hands over his ears, followed by Fong, then Renet, Jennika, Lita, and Jason.

Bradford screamed, high and shrill. Several students broke off their conversations to turn their heads.

Xever munched and swallowed it all. He took a final swig of his cider calmly. The moment he set his cup down on the table, he took off at break-neck speed, cackling like a maniac. Bradford launched after him, sprinting as they took off across the cider mill field, over the colorful fall leaves and dying grass. Bradford's holler could be heard in the distance.

"GIVE ME BACK MY DONUT!"

"I hope Bradford doesn't actually want that specific donut back," Jennika commented without missing a beat.

Lita stared. "Should someone tell Bradford he can get another one from the kitchens?"

Jason casually dipped his donut into some of his cider before tilting his head back to eat it.

"Eh… nah."

"Oh, yeah! Who wants to check out the mill's bakery?" Lita asked, perking up. "Jennika, Renet, and I wanted to go there before we leave. There's a gift shop right above it, apparently."

The invitation was met with nods from the rest of the group — which was now just Mikey, Fong, and Jason, since Bradford and Xever had literally run away. The group finished off their donuts and cider, and then took off from the eatery, stepping off the deck to take the dirt path that led to the mill shop. Someone sneezed, and Mikey looked over his shoulder to say 'bless you', but then he bumped into someone and had to step back.

"Oops! Sorry, excuse me," he said.

"No problem," the man he'd bumped into said. "Where are you all headed off to?"

_That's a weird question for a stranger to ask — oh._

Looking up, Mikey smiled politely at the man before them. Simon Savanti (a.k.a. Sav’s dad, a.k.a. the man Renet’s mom was dating, a.k.a. one of the parent chaperones on their field trip, a.k.a. someone Mikey didn’t know very well) smiled at them with closed lips over his sharp nose. A breeze whipped by them. 

Renet adjusted her earmuffs. "We're off to see the bakery and gift shop."

"Ah, a good idea," Simon said quietly, nodding as he looked to the house in the distance as the wind whistled, the canopy of white-gray sky contrasting against the black-haired man. "Our field trip is close to ending. We have an hour or so left, so enjoy it."

"We will, thank you Mr. Savanti," Lita said, falling into her 'talking to teachers' voice. Behind her, Jason rolled his eyes, and Jennika snorted behind her scarf.

Simon smiled pleasantly at them, turning to leave. Mikey wondered how this man had spawned offspring as big a jerk as Sav. He turned along with his friends to continue trudging against the dirt path. Just then the breeze turned into a gust, and Mikey squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as the wind bit into his skin.

"Oh, and one more thing," Simon said in the pause the sudden wind had created. "Be mindful of Peter."

Mikey exchanged blank glances with their friends. Did anyone know a Peter?

"Um, who?" Mikey asked.

"I don't think we have a Peter in our class," Lita said.

"No, he's from the mill," Simon said mysteriously, shrugging. "I wouldn't know, I haven't seen him. But the owners of the cider mill have stories about him having haunted this place for the last seventy years. Just wanted to let you know."

Mikey stared, letting that sink in.

The brisk autumn wind howled like wolves in the distance, and the ninth graders of Eastman High all quieted to hear it make the old cider mill moan. It sounded like a scream. Goosebumps crawled up Mikey's neck.

Fong sucked in a breath. " _YOU MEAN A GHOST?_ "

Simon smiled, lips closed. "Just a rumor I thought I'd tell you all to be mindful of. Take care, all of you." He looked at all of them once more, and then left.

Mikey and his friends were left staring after the man in silence.

"Okay, so gift shop," Mikey said casually. He hadn't exactly meant for it to be funny, but it broke the tension and the others burst out laughing.

"Wow, what even was that?" Jennika wondered aloud. " _Be mindful of Peter?_ "

"Nope, stop," Lita said. "It can't actually be a…"

"Ghost," Fong said, a grin spreading across his face. "Guys, it's _Peter's ghost._ Peter from Peter's Cider Mill."

"Spooky," Renet said with a conspiratorial grin.

Lita whacked her in the arm. "No, Renet. You and I are supposed to be on the No Scary Stories Squad."

"I mean, I don't _love_ scary things, but I love adventure. And it sounds adventurous," Renet said, looping her arm through Lita's.

" _You_ sound hypocritical. Besides, there's no such thing as ghosts," Lita argued.

"Says who?" Jason said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. He pulled out his cell phone. "This is cool. I'm going to look it up, maybe the ghost story's on their website." He frowned. "Dang. No bars."

There was a shrill, high-pitched whine over the wind again. The entire mill creaked.

Lita groaned, looking around nervously. "Everything is instantly creepier the _moment_ someone says the word 'ghost'."

Shivering, Mikey quietly stuffed his hands into his pockets, tugging his coat tighter around him. A sense of unease filled him. Lita was right — just the word 'ghost' had given him the creeps. Hopefully it was just a story, and nothing more.

So all of them — Mikey, Jennika, Lita, Renet, Fong, and Jason — walked down the dirt path, breaking off into smaller conversations together, the leaves on the ground crunching under all their sneakers. The path that led from the cider mill to the bakery led up to the little house, painted white with dark green shingles. The few trees around them bristled; the landscape was completely void of birds.

_I guess this is what the countryside is like,_ Mikey thought as they trudged into the bakery, a bell ringing above them as Jennika pulled open the door. They all ducked inside.

The bakery smelled _amazing_. If Mikey eating one donut had been cinnamon sugar heaven, he had no other words for what it was like to stand in the cozy bakery, the amazingly soft smells filling his nostrils. Strawberry, chocolate, honey, cinnamon! Even the smell of regular fresh bread was making Mikey want to weep. Baked goods filled the shelves and pastries and pies lined the inside of the glass display case that stretched out along the bakery floor.

Mikey browsed through the bakery. Outside, the wind blew hard, and Mikey could have sworn it sounded like crying, but no one else seemed to have heard anything.

They all realized pretty quick that they couldn't afford anything, so Jennika led them all up to the gift shop. They hurried up the stairs, each step creaking underneath their weight, and walked in.

"Wow," Mikey breathed.

It looked homey — mahogany walls and dark wood floor panels, with a bunch of display stands and shelves with seemingly vintage stuff. There was even a family of mannequins dressed up in clothes from the 50's.

"Oh, this is so cute," Mikey heard Renet breath out.

They found their friends looking among the stuff in the display shop pretty quickly. Jason and Fong were looking at their phones. Jennika was standing in front of the mannequins.

"Guys, look at this," Jennika said, putting on one of the mannequin's hats and posing.

Mikey and Renet walked up to the mannequins in interest, taking turns trying on the hats and scarves. Mikey turned to look at himself wearing a bowler hat in the mirror on the wall. The mirror was cracked and dusty, so Mikey blew on it.

"This used to be someone's house," Fong said in a creepy voice from across the gift shop. "Maybe this was Peter's room."

"Oh, stop," Lita grumbled. "I hate thinking about that. Peter was probably a happy man who lived a long happy life. Right, Jason? What does the website say?"

Jason shrugged. "Sorry, still no bars."

"Coincidence? I think not," Fong added. "What do you think, Mikey?"

"I don't want to think about ghosts," Mikey admitted with a laugh.

Lita brightened. "Mikey, you angel. See? He's on my side."

Then Jennika made a _tsking_ sound with her mouth. Mikey turned to look at her. She and Renet were at the window, peering out.

"What is going _on_ out there?" Jennika asked.

"What's up?" Mikey asked, stepping forward. The girls moved aside, letting him see.

Mikey peered out the little window in the gift shop. Down below, by the creek, Bradford, Xever, and two others were shouting at each other. There seemed to be venom in their tones. Seeing Bradford and Xever shouting wasn't unusual, but they weren't ever _rude_. Mikey frowned, because from the annoyed looks on both Bradford and Xever's faces as they talked loudly at the other two classmates was unsettling. Yeah, what _was_ going on out there?

"Who're they talking to?" he asked.

Renet squinted. "Oh, no," she muttered. "Sav."

Mikey could see them now, stepping out from where a tree branch had been blocking the view. Sav stood there, saying something to both Bradford and Xever with that same smirk on his face as before, as if he were taunting them. The other kid who stood close by, not really _next_ to Sav, but off staring in the creek water, was the boy from before.

"And Woody," Jennika said for all of them, her tone flat. It was the definition of sarcastic as she added, "What a great combination of people."

"Yikes. Woody's already got issues," Jason muttered from behind Mikey. "And Sav doesn't help. Are they being jerks _together_ now?"

"Headed for mutual jerkhood?" Fong added, worry lacing his voice. "I better get down there."

"Yeah, you better," Jason said, and Fong took off.

Lita looked out the window and gasped. "Go with him, then, Jason," she said. "What if Woody does something?"

"Fong can calm things down," Jason said, a little warily.

Mikey blinked, trying to keep track of the conversation. He didn't have any classes with Woody or Sav, but he realized that his friends probably did. And they were acting like this was a big deal.

"Come on, I'm sure it's just a little misunderstanding," he said, a little uncertainly. "They're not _that_ bad."

"Well, Mikey, we know Sav an be… mean," Renet said, and Mikey could tell she didn't want to completely disagree with him. "Who knows what he's saying right now to our friends?"

"Yeah. Plus, Woody's a freak," Jason added.

"Dude," Mikey said after a second.

"You're way too nice, Hamato," Jennika said, clapping a hand on Mikey's shoulder. "Even _Fong_ hates the guy."

"Wait," Mikey blinked. " _Our_ Fong?"

"I'm sorry, do you know another?"

Lita nodded. "I have to agree with everyone here, Mikey. Woody's weird. Not in the nice way, like Renet was when I first became friends with her."

"Wow, thanks girl," Renet said softly, as Jennika snorted out a laugh into her elbow.

"No, for real," Lita said to them, shrugging. "I have history class with both Sav and Woody. Let me tell you. Sav is not a nice guy, always calling people losers and whatever, but _Woody's_ worse. You might be having an okay conversation one second, but then he loses his marbles and snaps at you. He gets emotional, and says things… I don't know, he says things in the moment, and they make Sav's insults look like praises."

"Yes! Exactly. Like, overly emotional, but in a bad way," Jennika chimed in. "I have Spanish, and English, _and_ lunch with the guy. Back to back to back. It's a mess — he once made a teacher cry because he was so rude to her."

"Oh," Mikey said in shock. That sounded bad. "He's really that unfriendly? I mean, he didn't go to the same middle school as us, but… I don't know."

"What's there to be confused about?" Jason asked.

"Maybe he has a hard time controlling his emotions?" Mikey suggested.

"You're _way_ too nice," Renet told him.

"No, I mean, I'm not trying to be," Mikey said honestly. "I'm just… I'm just trying to look at all the sides here."

Jason nodded. "I get it, man. My mom's always all about giving people the benefit of the doubt, too. But listen, I tried being friendly a few times and he was…" He trailed off.

Quietly, Lita said, "He called Jason's music trash and… well, a few other really mean things I won't bother repeating."

Mikey's jaw dropped, and he looked at a shrugging Jason. "Your music is _awesome_ , though."

"What a jerk," Renet said in a hush.

"Woody doesn't talk to people unless it's to hurt them really bad with his words. I don't know how he does it, but he does it," Lita said, summarizing it. "That's why we're worried about Bradford and Xever."

There was a shout from below, and Mikey and his friends peered out the window again. Bradford and Xever both looked like they were trying to pull each other back from punching Sav in the face. But Fong was there now, his hands raised as he said something, probably to ease the tension. Sav was looking at him, bored.

"That's right, Fong," Jennika murmured under her breath. "Diffuse the situation."

Mikey watched nervously as Sav said something, his lips moving too fast for him to read. Fong was shaking his head, still remaining calm. Then he looked past Sav and pointed to Woody, and said something. Woody glared at him, and said something with his head turned.

Whatever he said, Fong apparently heard — and the look on Fong's face took on one of shock and and a sudden flash of hurt. Mikey blinked a few times. Oh, no.

Jennika scowled. "What on _earth_ did he say to Fong?"

Then something else happened, impossibly worse. One minute Fong was standing by the creek, and the next, Woody was pushing past him, a scowl on his face. His shoulder accidentally bumped into Fong too hard, causing him to slip.

Right into the creek.

"FONG!" everyone yelled.

"Call a teacher!" Jennika shouted, and then they were bolting out of the gift shop, charging down the stairs.

Mikey's heart raced. _Oh no oh no oh no_ — and he ran after his friends. But just as he passed the dusty mirror, he felt a chill that wasn't from the outside cold take over, freezing him in his steps. He jolted to a sudden stop, all alone in the gift shop, unable to do anything other than stand where he was.

_What's happening?_ Mikey thought wildly, his heart racing faster as he realized he couldn't lift his feet. It felt like he was deep, deep, deep under water, and even his pinky finger weighed a ton because of the pressure around him. Mikey could only breathe a little, the air coming out in puffs. _Why can't I move?_

For a moment, all Mikey could do was stand like a statue where he was. He could hear the sound of his friends shouting downstairs, the bell above the door ringing, and then the door itself slamming shut as they ran outside to help Fong. He could hear them rounding the house.

But he couldn't _move_.

Why couldn't he move?

He felt like ice — cold gripped him from inside.

And then he saw him. In the mirror. A boy, looking at him.

Mikey's eyes widened as much as they could as he stared at the sight in the little oval mirror on the wall. The boy standing next to him in the reflection was half his size, his hair long and wavy and brown. He looked much younger than Mikey, and he stood on the wooden floor of the gift shop with bare feet, dressed in a shorts and a dull gray shirt. His eyes were sunken in, shadows surrounding his softly glowing irises.

A chill spread through Mikey's bones. The boy was only in the mirror, not in the room with him.

"Do you want to make a promise with me?" the boy asked, his voice like a whisper and an echo at the same time.

_Uuuummmmm what._

The boy asked again. "Do you want to make a promise with me?"

Mikey just stared, not understanding what the boy wanted.

" _Do you want to make a promise with me?_ "

Mikey grew incredibly colder. His body felt like ice, and his lungs struggled to take in air. His heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest in fear. But he forced himself to look at the little boy and moved his lips.

"N-not really, no thanks," he managed to get out.

And that was all it took. In a blink, the boy disappeared, and Mikey collapsed onto the floor on his hands and knees, free to move. Warmth rushed back into his body, but Mikey sat back on his haunches and looked at the mirror again, eyes wide as he realized something.

That had been _Peter's ghost._

Okay.

So maybe, there were _two_ downsides to this field trip.


	2. flesh puppet theories, still wednesday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, we’re back! Sorry it took forever. Only two chapters left, I’ve got it all outlined :) I had fun writing, hope you enjoy reading!

Raindrops hit Mikey's nose as he stumbled out of the cider mill bakery/gift shop on trembling legs. The wind had been knocked out of him from being frozen in place by the little ghost boy just moments before, but he didn't have time to sit and _ponder_ about that. His friend was in trouble!

"Fong!" Mikey tried to yell, but his voice was missing.

It was as cold as it could get without everything turning to ice — Peter's Cider Mill was still a few weeks away from closing down for the season, after all — so when Mikey saw Fong out of the water, he let out a sigh of relief.

As he shakily ran over, shouts pierced the air, mainly from Jennika and Sav. Jason and Woody stood nearby by the banks of the creek. The four of them created a diamond of confrontation.

At least, that's what it looked like to Mikey.

"You're a _trash_ human being, you know that, Savanti?" Jennika's voice was hard.

"Oh wow, I'm _so_ offended. You're so mean," Sav shouted right back, but wore a large smile on his face as if he found the entire situation very funny.

With a clenched jaw, Jennika looked ready to punch him. She turned on Woody standing next to Sav. "Dirkins, honestly. Why did you push Fong?"

The boy, however, was barely looking at any of them. He just awkwardly stood there, a scowl on his face.

Jason shoved him as if to get Woody further away from him. "Seriously, what's _wrong_ with you?"

Woody stepped back a couple steps, his glare hardening on Jason. But his eyes flickered over to Fong, and he didn't say anything. The rain fell harder.

_Just say it was an accident,_ Mikey found himself thinking. _Not that you can hear my thoughts, but just say the words, dude!_

But Woody didn't defend himself.

Which was _weird_. Because Mikey knew for a fact that it had been an accident.

Mikey came to a stop besides Fong, who was currently having his own conversation with a very worried-looking Xever and an extremely panicked Bradford. Mikey opened his mouth, but the semi-soaked Fong raised a hand to stop Mikey right away.

"Before you ask, I promise you I'm _fine_ ," he said. "I just lost my glasses when I fell. Can you help?"

Mikey didn't need to be prompted — carefully he knelt down and started to finger through the grass.

Over them, Bradford wailed, "You're going to get puh-no-mia, Fong! _Puh-no-mia!_ "

Fong sniffed. "Bradford, _total_ respect, but — uh, wait. I'm going to get _what?_ "

"PUH-NO-MIA!"

Mikey paused at that and looked at the triad. Usually they were always in their own little world, but now Xever and Fong both stared at Bradford like he'd poured the milk before the cereal. (Which Mikey had actually seen Bradford doing before.)

"That's… that's not what it's called, right?" Mikey asked with a laugh, but his breath hitched and his voice came out severely strained, an unpleasant reminder of the ghost who'd so abruptly trapped him in the gift shop.

_Nope! Come on, brain, one catastrophe at a time, okay?_

"Yeah, no." Xever stared at Bradford. "It's _pneumonia_."

"It starts with a 'p'! I'm not stupid!"

"The 'p' is silent, my guy," Xever drawled out. "Like, let's say, a _ninja_. How do you say _pterodactyl?_ "

Bradford clutched the sides of his head. " _Who makes words that way?_ "

"Dunno. The ninja 'p' can be spooky."

Fong snorted. Nudging Mikey's elbow, he whispered, " _Ninja pee._ "

They laughed for a minute, and finally Mikey was able to calm down some. _Some_. Not all the way. He was glad Fong was okay, but he was having a hard time keeping his fingers from trembling. He pressed them down onto the wet soil to get them to lie still. His stomach hurt, a cramp bothering him from the force of Peter's ghost.

_Holy ravioli, and we're back to to thinking about it. Stop it, Mikey!_

But of course, instructing himself to stop thinking about something that was freaking him out was causing him to think about it _more_. He needed to talk to someone. And there was only one person in their entire student body that Mikey knew he could tell.

"Where's Renet?" he asked, looking around.

"Hopefully back soon with a teacher who can shut _them_ up," Xever muttered with a glance over his shoulder at Jennika, Jason, Sav, and Woody.

Mikey followed his gaze. The diamond of confrontation was still at it. They seemed to have gotten louder, mostly because they needed to speak over the sound of Sav laughing like a hyena.

"There's gotta be something actually wrong with you," Jason was still saying to Woody. "Why did you do it?"

"Yeah, _why?_ " Jennika demanded. "What, you have issues at home or something? Does your dad push you into a creek, too?"

Woody's eyes darkened. Jason took his turn, another taunt at the ready.

"Does mommy not love you? I heard that she's usually out of town."

An uncomfortable feeling rose within Mikey at the sharp words. _That wasn't very nice._ Woody's expression flattened out to something else. He still looked angry, but he also looked hurt. And something else was off, something Mikey couldn't ignore: Jennika and Jason were being _mean_.

As that particular fact clicked for Mikey, his fingers stopped shaking.

As his friends continued to search for Fong's glasses, Mikey stood up and looked at Jennika and Jason — or rather, their backs, since they weren't facing in his direction.

"Can you guys please stop?" he asked loudly, and to his surprise, his voice held over the chilly wind.

Jennika and Jason turned to look at him. Sav smiled like Mikey's face was the punchline of a joke.

"Loser. Don't spoil the show."

"I don't think you're asking the right questions," Mikey said, tactfully ignoring Sav. He glanced at Woody, right into his angry, heterochromic eyes. Woody looked away, jaw fixed, like he was bracing himself for another passive-aggressive remark — but all Mikey said was, "Um, Woody? Did you mean to push Fong into the creek?"

Jennika's jaw dropped open. She wasn't looking at Woody or Fong, though. Her eyes drilled into Mikey. Woody looked surprised, too. And for the first time, he spoke.

"No." Woody visibly swallowed, and his eyes met Mikey's cautiously, before darting to Fong. "I didn't mean for that to happen."

"Okay! Cool!" Mikey enthused, as if he hadn't known that this entire time. To Jennika and Jason, he quipped, "So then you dudes are overreacting a bit, yeah?"

"No, we're not," Jason said back immediately. His face was impassive as he stared Mikey down. "That was clearly a lie, and we're defending our friend from this _jerk_."

Maybe Mikey didn't know everything, but simultaneously they were being jerks themselves, weren't they? Mikey had only heard a handful of the stuff they'd said at Woody, but not once had the boy said anything in return. How could he possibly defend himself? He didn't seem like much of a talker.

And _actually_ , now that Mikey thought about it, this was just like that time when someone had stolen Raph's pre-calculus textbook a few years ago — a really weird thing for someone to steal, by the way — and because the teacher had seen that Raph didn't have his on his desk, he'd gotten a demerit for losing a class copy even though it wasn't his fault. The reason Raph hadn't defended himself had been because he'd been too sleepy and exhausted from a football practice the night before, and also that he didn't care all that much about "a stupid dorky math book", and _that_ had gotten Leo _so_ annoyed with him, but the point was… uh.

_There's a point in there, somewhere,_ Mikey argued with his own brain. _About fairness. And maybe Woody isn't the most vouched-for guy, but that doesn't make him guilty before proven innocent!_

So Mikey looked at Jennika and Jason, wondering how to kindly tell them that their strategic decision to play bad-cop-bad-cop was terrible.

"Stop going _ham_ on him, dudes," Mikey tried. "It was an accident, and Fong over here is freezing to an icicle, so can we all just focus on helping him?"

Turning back, Mikey could see Fong's teeth had indeed started to chatter together. Bradford pulled off his not-soaked jacket and pushed it at him to wear his instead. Xever was just watching everyone, his eyes flattening critically at Mikey. Mikey blinked back, a little surprised. Didn't Xever agree with him here?

_Maybe not,_ Mikey realized. _I guess Bradford and Xever were already fighting with Sav and Woody before Fong even ran out here._

"Wait, hold on," Jennika said, getting everyone's attention. "Fong, didn't Woody push you?"

Fong blinked. "Uh, I mean… yes?" He sounded doubtful. "He did, but I think I slipped on my own too, really."

"Woody said something mean to you, didn't he?"

Fong looked down. Bradford and Xever looked at each other before turning to glare at Woody.

"See?" Jennika almost yelled. "So wasn't the push _on purpose?_ "

Mikey was surprised that Jennika was still doubting it until he saw her eyes. She looked angry, but it was a different kind of angry than Woody's — hers had an much stronger intent behind them. It was almost like she _wanted_ to put the blame on Woody, no matter what.

"Jennika, stop being a bully," Mikey said.

He'd meant for it to come out gently, like a friendly reminder. But somehow it came out more like how Leo would say it. Like a no-nonsense order.

_Oops._

He immediately wished he could take it back, to sound less bossy and more like his usual _cheerful_ , _silly_ self — but then it was too late. Jennika threw Mikey the most disgusted glare he'd ever received from anyone, much less a friend.

"Mikey, shut up before you say something even more stupid than anything you've said so far," Jason muttered.

That was the double stinger.

That hadn't been the reaction Mikey had been expecting. He felt his cheeks heat up as Jason's words settled in, and Jennika's glare at him _pierced_ him through the chest. Distantly he could hear Sav wheezing, laughing hard.

_I'm… I'm not stupid,_ Mikey thought.

He took a step backwards. Some kind of rock met his heel, and —

_Snap._

"Aw, crap! Mikey!" Fong was batting at Mikey's leg with the back of his hand. "Off, off, off!"

Mikey raised his foot, stumbling forward, turning on his heel and looking down to where he'd been standing. _Oh_. It hadn't been a rock that he'd stepped on.

Fong let out a small groan at the glinting shards as he picked up his now broken glasses. One of the lenses was completely shattered and gone, and the other one had spiderweb cracks through it. Guilt flooded into Mikey's senses along with the shame. He knelt down by Fong in a rush.

"I-I'm so sorry," Mikey stammered.

"These were new," Fong muttered. His eyes flickered to Mikey. "Not what I had in mind when I asked you to help me find them."

"I'm so sorry, I'll, like, p-pay for a new pair," Mikey said pathetically, even though he knew that the money would be coming straight out of Leo's pockets. _Ugh. What did I do?_ Guilt stabbed him.

Somewhere in the background, Mikey could hear a teacher shout, and he raised his head to see Renet and Lita, running towards them with their teacher in tow, finally.

"Fong? Did you fall in?" the teacher called out, jogging over. "I'm going to need to call your parents immediately and let them know. It's really cold."

Fong stood and walked towards the teacher — and Mikey didn't miss the way Fong completely ignored his offer to pay for his mistake.

"Everyone else, our trip is pretty much over, so we better get going! In the next ten minutes, I want everyone rounded up at the buses!" the teacher called out right after checking her watch.

To make matters worse, Mikey watched helplessly as Jennika, Jason, Bradford, and Xever walked by him, completely ignoring him as they made their way back. Face burning, Mikey stood up, only holding himself together in this completely humiliating situation by pretending he was being trapped by another ghost.

_I shouldn't have said anything,_ Mikey thought, keeping his eyes down as he walked towards the bus. With every step, his heart sank lower and lower, his earlier justice-generated adrenaline fading away.

"Mikey, do you want to sit— _oof!_ " Renet's question was cut off as Jennika yanked on her arm along with Lita's.

From the few feet away that he was walking, Mikey could hear Jennika say, " _Don't_ talk to him, Renet. Sit with _me_."

"What happened?" Renet asked with a frown, only to be shushed by Jennika again.

Mikey looked down at his sneakers as he boarded the bus. Heck, being trapped by a ghost was _preferable_ to this. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything, even if Jennika and Jason were in the wrong. He took his seat in the front.

But maybe Renet would think he was stupid, too. By now Jennika had filled her and Lita in — that much was obvious as Mikey saw Lita send him an obligatory stink-eye as she passed him down the aisle. Renet passed by, too, but Mikey didn't want to lift his head to see her face. So he kept it down, pretending he didn't hear her little "Mikey?" because he wasn't about to get a _triple stinger_ in one field trip.

Even if he wanted to tell her about Peter the ghost and laugh about how freaky it had been together.

"Attendance!" the teacher shouted over the chatter, and they only somewhat quieted down as first names began being called out by alphabetical order. Mikey relaxed after his turn passed, and turned his head to gaze out the window.

There was little commotion ("It's _Sav_ , not _Romero!_ Yuck," Sav had corrected snippily) but then the teacher called out for Woody.

"Woody Dirkins?" But there was no responding 'here!' as everyone else had done. Their teacher sighed. "Woody Dirkins? Come on, no games. One of us is soaked and we need to get back ASAP."

"Yeah," Bradford said supportively from up front, where he and Xever were on either side of Fong. "We can't let him _die!_ "

"I'm not dying!" Fong complained. "Just cold. And semi-blind."

Mikey winced as Fong pointedly didn't look in his direction. The _'because of Mikey'_ hung unsaid in the air.

Simon stood from where he sat with another parent chaperone, raising a hand. "I'll go get him," he said.

"Take your time, pops," Sav said with a snicker, earning threats of war from Bradford.

As the teacher read out and checked off the rest of the attendance, Mikey leaned his head against the window as the noise in the bus began to escalate as conversations took place. He looked at Peter's Cider Mill, letting his eyes scan the mill and the bakery/gift shop farther back, and the creek behind it all, wondering if he would spot the ghost of Peter again.

He didn't, but he _did_ see Woody walking back to the bus with Simon. Simon's face had a pleasant smile on it, but Woody's face was, as usual, its angry self. Mikey looked away from the boy, not wanting to relive the embarrassment of how Jennika had glared and how Jason had snapped at him. His ears felt hot all over again as Woody boarded the bus, feeling how all his friends were boycotting him more than ever.

The bus engine started, and Mikey was glad that they were finally going home. So much for a fun field trip he'd been looking forward to.

_I should have grabbed another donut on my way out for the emotional pain._

* * *

Some days, Mikey felt like he had two separate lives.

One was the normal one with really cool friends and brain-numbing homework and tests and skateboarding and everything that made him feel like a _regular kid_. The other was a bit more, well, mystical.

After all, Mikey could sense yokai.

They had plenty of other names: spirits, monsters, demons, supernaturals — but Mikey had grown up listening to his father's stories, and in Japanese folklore, _yokai_ were creatures with strange forms and abilities. In real life, most humans couldn't see, hear, or feel them, and using a term straight from the stories that he'd never once imagined had any level of reality to them felt right. _Yokai_. A real thing that proved magic was real, and who knew _what_ else.

Mikey had discovered yokai only last year. So had his friend Casey. Renet, however, had been able to see them all her life — and Mikey suspected that it was because he and Casey had lived most their lives in Eastman, while Renet had moved in from somewhere else.

There was something strange about their city. Something even Renet admitted was a little odd. For one thing, a mysterious invisible barrier surrounded Eastman, keeping yokai from coming in. Mikey didn't know for how long it had been up there, but he suspected years.

Another weird thing was the existence of the yokai-hunting clan.

_The Miyamoto Clan._

The name made the hairs on the back of Mikey's neck rise, even when he was just _thinking_ about them. Back in May, in a flurry of chaos, he, Casey, and Renet had been mistaken as yokai by the clan and chased with magic nets and spells. In the craziness, they'd almost turned into yokai for _real_. Almost. But ever since they'd cleaned up the mess and returned to their normal lives, no one from the clan had tried to chase them down again. Which was a _massive_ relief.

There had even been a _kid_ yokai hunter — someone Mikey's age! — who'd taken part in the hunt after them. He'd been a rude kid with some type of ineffective magic. His face had been totally masked, but Mikey would never forget how he, Casey, and Renet had escaped that weird kid _and_ his henchmen just in the nick of time.

But all of that was neither here nor there — because the weirdest thing of all was that the Miyamoto Clan was led by the mayor of Eastman: Yuuki Miyamoto.

Because that was _weird_ , right? That the mayor of the city could also sense yokai, like Mikey? And that he had a whole _clan?_

It was all super weird. Fascinating, too, if Mikey was being honest — but also very _weird_.

So really, with everything Mikey had been through in the past year, seeing a little ghost in the reflection of a dusty mirror somewhere _other_ than Eastman should have been the most _normal_ yokai encounter of them all. To be expected!

Mikey just hadn't done the whole expecting part.

"What are you thinking about?"

Mikey jumped so badly that his fork went spiraling across the table, dropping off the edge, never to be seen again — until it was caught by a slender hand.

Said slender hand was connected to Leo, Mikey's oldest brother.

Leo handed the fork back, an eyebrow raised. "Whoa, there. Keep your fork on a leash, huh kiddo?"

"Sorry. Thanks," Mikey said, not realizing how tired he sounded to his own ears until he'd taken the next bite of his beans and rice.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Leo exchanging glances with Raph. _Uh-oh._ Mikey pulled in air through his nose, straightening his back and hoping that it would be enough to not cause one of them to go—

"So, Mikey. How was your day?" Leo asked.

_There_ it was. Mikey had already been asked this question earlier today, when he'd first come home. Leo had been in the kitchen, busily working on complicated-looking homework from college on his laptop, so he hadn't batted an eye when Mikey had chirped out that it had been fine. But now, being the overattentive brother that he was, Leo was asking him a second time. And expecting a more detailed answer.

But one second of flashing back to the cringefest that had been this afternoon, and Mikey didn't want to relive breaking Fong's glasses and getting burned by his friends' silent treatment back to school.

Even though the responsible thing to do would've been to tell Leo.

Instead he cleared his throat and faked a smile. "It was fine!"

Leo and Raph looked at each other again, eyebrows raised. Why were they so talented at picking up his feelings at a _microscopic_ _level?_

"That's suspicious," Donnie supplied from behind his SAT book. He didn't look away from it as he added, "He should have a lot more to say, considering how excited he was for the cider mill trip today."

Raph raised an eyebrow. " _Exposed_."

"What? I'm not being suspicious. _No_ way, bro. What's suspicious?" Mikey exclaimed — sounding very suspicious, even to himself.

" _Did_ something happen today?" asked Leo casually, as if to mask the preemptive head-of-the-family concern he always seemed to have in extra supply.

Mikey felt himself burn as Fong's broken glasses under his foot flashed into his mind. Guiltily, Mikey looked down at his plate of rice and beans.

"Uh… the donuts were good," he said, trying to think of everything he could say that _wasn't_ about how he'd been a huge klutz and a loser today. "It was cold, so the hot cider was really nice."

"Nice. I remember when I went on the mill trip," Leo reminisced, bringing a glass of water to his smiling lips. "The creek there is beautiful."

Mikey blinked. "Oh yeah. Someone fell in."

Leo choked on his water.

"Oh, and a yokai froze me in place!"

Leo choked again. Raph's eyes bugged out. Donnie even looked up from his book.

Mikey couldn't help be delighted, though. _Wow, thinking about how embarrassing today was totally made me forget all the other stuff! I have plenty to talk about!_

"What kind?" Donnie immediately inquired, closing his book to stare at Mikey. "When? How? Where?"

"And you just _now_ remember?" Raph exclaimed, going over to Leo's side to smack his back as Leo gasped for air. "How were you just _sitting_ on that?"

"I'm sorry, I really just forgot to mention it!"

Leo wave a hand as he caught his breath. "Not your fault."

"Tell us what happened," Raph demanded, looking over Mikey. "What do you mean, it 'froze you in place'?"

Mikey told them, not leaving any part out — the boy in the mirror, the way he'd whispered super creepily, the way Mikey had said _no_ and the yokai had gone away. When he was done, his brothers' faces were pale with worry.

Here was the thing: although Mikey could sense yokai, his brothers couldn't. Mikey used to think that keeping them out of the yokai loop would be better if that meant they didn't have to worry, but worrying was just what family _did_. And if their situation was flipped, Mikey would want to know what type of invisible troubles _his_ brothers were getting into.

Communication was pretty important, as it turned out.

Even if it meant Raph hitting the table with his fist out of pure rage.

"It _touched_ you?" Raph asked, disgusted and angry.

"It was in the mirror the whole time, Raph," Donnie pointed out calmly. "How could it touch him?"

"It froze him in place! That's not normal."

"It's not," Leo agreed. He leaned over and felt Mikey's forehead with the back of his hand. "You're feeling okay _now_ though, right, kiddo?"

"You think he might have gotten a fever from the exposure?" Donnie's eyes widened. "You don't suppose that's why he was a little quiet today?"

Mikey rolled his eyes and batted Leo's hand away. "I'm not sick or quiet!" he complained loudly, just for emphasis. "I really think he just wanted to ask me that weird question, and then went away when I wasn't interested."

"You did the right thing, saying no," Leo affirmed. "Maybe it was some kind of… I don't even know how to classify it."

"Ghost," Mikey said, only for Donnie to say it at the same time. They looked at each other. Mikey was surprised. "You think so, too?"

"You saw a little boy yokai at Peter's Cider Mill, which has its own rumors about being haunted. Just guessing, it sounds like the ghost of Peter," Donnie said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"That's what I thought!" Mikey gave his genius brother a fist-bump of _victory_ , because being on the same page as Donnie was always a win.

"Wait, so is it a yokai, or a ghost? What's the difference here?" Raph asked, crossing his arms.

"Well, 'yokai' is like, the _everything_ word. And 'ghost' is the smaller word," Mikey offered.

"'Ghost' is specific, given that we know the definition of 'ghost' to be some type of apparition that used to be alive. 'Yokai' is much more general," Donnie said.

"So basically what I said," Mikey noted, nodding in casual agreement. He grinned when he spotted Leo stifling laughter behind his hand.

Raph looked confused. "Aren't all yokai ghosts, then?"

Donnie adjusted his glasses and looked at Mikey to let him answer. Mikey perked up.

" _Nope._ "

Raph squinted at the wall, deep in thought.

"While you let that marinate in your head, I have a few possible theories as to what this yokai could have possibly wanted."

Mikey, Leo, and Raph all looked at Donnie, who leaned forward, folding his hands together.

"Theory one," he started, "is that it wanted to be friends with you."

Deep breath from Raph. "I call _bullsh—_ "

"Theory _two_ ," Donnie interrupted without batting an eye, "is that it just wanted to use your body as its flesh puppet to achieve its goals in the physical plane."

Mikey made a face. He wondered what type of goals a ghost even had. _Revenge?_ TV had taught him that usually ghosts wanted revenge. But he decided he didn't want to ask Donnie for sub-theories.

So he just said, "Ew, flesh puppet", because _ew_. _Flesh_ puppet.

Leo rose from his chair to drape his arms around Mikey.

"Not happening," he said protectively, and Mikey leaned into his brother's elbow. "I'm _so_ glad you're back home. I can't believe how close you were to something so dangerous. That's _not_ what I signed the permission slip for."

"For what it's worth, I would let you guys know if I got possessed by a yokai," Mikey said, and at that, Raph snorted.

"Anyway!" Leo said, leaning back and taking in Mikey's face. "It's a good thing that ghost is far away, outside of Eastman. Let's talk about something else now."

Mikey nodded. He hadn't been particularly _terrified_ , but it had shaken him up, the ghost. But now that he was far away from the mill, safe and warm in his own home, _plus_ with the added protection of the barrier around Eastman — it eased his mind, caressing any wrinkles of remaining shock away.

"You're so right, Leo, let's _not_ talk about yokai," Donnie drawled lightly. "Instead, let's talk about the party tomorrow and how we're allowing Mikey to go to it."

The Friendsgiving Party! Mikey smiled. There was nothing like a party to cure one bad day. Then he caught onto Donnie's tone, and his smile fell away a little.

Leo gave Donnie a disparaging look. "Really? We're talking about this again?"

"We never really had a conversation to begin with."

"Donnie, it's _just_ a party."

"With a murderer."

Alarm and confusion spiked through Mikey as he looked between Leo and Donnie.

"W-what are we talking about? I don't understand," he said, feeling like he was missing something. "I thought this was about the thing Usagi invited us to for Thanksgiving."

"It _is_ ," Leo and Donnie said in unison.

Oh, okay, then Mikey was definitely confused. He looked at Raph for help, but Raph was looking kind of bored, chewing and watching their brothers like it was the weather report.

"Does… does Donnie not want me to go?" Mikey asked quietly. He tried thinking about last week when Donnie had mentioned it to him. Had Donnie looked upset? Mikey had been excited, he hadn't _noticed_.

Leo sighed. "Donnie doesn't want _any_ of us to go."

Donnie shrugged, looking evenly at his food. "You'd think the same thing, Leo, if you weren't _infatuated_."

"I am _not_." Leo drew himself up, his face red from irritation, not embarrassment. "Calling his dad a _murderer_ is a bit much, don't you think?"

"No, actually. Don't _you_ think brushing off what Mikey told us is a _bit much?_ "

Oh. _Ooooh_. And just like that, Mikey knew what this was about. Man, he was a little _slow_ today, wasn't he?

Usagi Miyamoto was the son of the mayor, after all. Mikey had never met Usagi or Yuuki Miyamoto properly in person, but he'd seen Yuuki Miyamoto a few months ago in May, back when all the craziness was happening. Mikey'd seen the man turn a live yokai into stone before crushing her to dust.

When Donnie had called Miyamoto a murderer, that's what he'd been talking about.

A sick feeling coiled up in Mikey's gut. _It's not like Donnie's wrong._

"Fine. So this is how you're going to keep painting it, then," Leo said with a sigh. "Usagi's related to a murderer and you don't want us to go to the party."

Donnie pushed up his glasses by the bridge of his nose. "We don't know anything about Usagi, either."

"Usagi _isn't_ —" but Leo cut himself off, and simply fixed a glare at Donnie.

Donnie blinked at him. "I'm not arguing with you. Just pointing out facts."

Leo rubbed his face and groaned — something that was uncharacteristic for him, since he was always put together. It was odd seeing Leo conflicted.

To be fair, Mikey hadn't thought of Usagi as the mayor's son in quite a while. Miyamoto was a scary dude, and this was coming from Mikey, who had only ever caught a glance of him _once_ , while he was wearing some kind of fox mask.

But Usagi was just the guy Leo liked from college.

At least, that's what it was for now.

"I… so, what, are we just _not_ gonna go? That's ridiculous, Donnie," Mikey said, earning everyone's attention. "It's not like Mayor Miyamoto _knows_ that I know about his secret clan. And if we don't go, does that mean we start avoiding Usagi and his dad, like, _forever?_ We live in the same city! That's _way_ too hard."

"He could be dangerous, Mikey," Donnie said. "He's proven he can be dangerous. You know better than we do."

"Leo trusts Usagi as a friend, right?" Mikey looked up to receive Leo's slow, affirming nod. "This is a _Friends_ giving party. Not a _I'm-Avoiding-You-Because-You're-An-Evil-Yokai-Hunter-Clan-Leader_ party. We should go."

"Invite me to _that_ party," Raph commented with a chuckle.

Mikey looked at Donnie, and felt his ears burning. Had he said something stupid again?

But then Donnie smiled. "Okay. You've convinced me. We can go."

Leo scoffed, but looked more relaxed. "That's all it took?"

"You weren't giving me a _logical_ argument," Donnie replied with a smile. "You just got all flustered when you thought you would have to turn Usagi down."

"W-well, it's not like I'm going to go off and leave one of my brothers alone for Thanksgiving dinner," Leo protested, over Raph's cackles and hoots of calling him ' _loverboy_ '.

They cleared up the table, and Mikey scampered off to hit the showers before bed. As the sound of his brothers taking care of the dishes floated down the hall, Mikey couldn't help but look into his reflection a bit more closely.

He let out a sigh of relief. It was just him. No ghost boy possessing him.

_Just checking_ , Mikey assured himself.

But his heart still felt heavy, and it wasn't until he was in the shower that he remembered why — all the ways he'd messed up today.

The way Jason had told him to shut up, the way Jennika had glared like he was the dirt on her shoes, and the way Fong had looked at him glumly, broken glasses in hand. Mikey felt his heart pulse in shame. He could still hear Sav's laughter echoing in his mind. He'd just had to go out of his way, hadn't he?

Mikey let out a deep sigh and rubbed more soap on himself. At least tonight it felt like he'd done something right, winning over Donnie for Leo's sake — but tomorrow at the party would tell if he'd made the right call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One day I shall align the mikey yokai fic I’m writing… with the corresponding holiday… and it’ll be complete by the time of the holiday… not weeks later… *cries in self-sabotage* 
> 
> Anyway, I was trying not to be too expositional with the bg info but it’s relevant this fic — not sure if I overdid it, tho, lol


	3. a place of reflection on thursday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter would have come out faster if i hadn't had a brain fart at every point of the process
> 
> but still, here it is! I'm proud of the way it turned out. I had fun even tho i nearly tore all my hair out in a fury at some points. I hope you enjoy! :D  
> also thank you for all the sweet words on the last chapter about letting me take my time???? y'all are really sweet!!!

So the Miyamoto house was actually a mansion, as it turned out.

It would have been nice to know before Mikey had pulled on one of his brother's hand-me-downs and called it _'party attire appropriate because I am the party'._ Now he just sort of felt stupid as they rolled into a parking spot along the curb. Because Yuuki Miyamoto's hedges were trimmed into _figurines_ of _animals_. One of the bushes looked like a rabbit mid-leap. How cool was that? If he'd known the _shrubbery_ was going to be dressed up, Mikey would have worn something nicer.

On the bright side, Raph's old sweaters always felt like a hug, even with the wide shoulders Mikey couldn't fill out yet.

Anyway, _mansion_.

The attractive stone-walled residence stood proudly against the evening sky at the end of the walkway. Under black shingles, inviting honey-colored light smeared out of the main window. Other lights lit up the expanse of the house, showcasing the multiple garages in the front driveway and the tastefully lush flower garden around a glass-like fountain in the animal-themed lawn. It looked like something magical was waiting inside, and for once Mikey didn't mean that in a supernatural way. Magical, like, it would _magically_ put feeling back into his numb toes.

"Don't break anything here," Leo joked as he placed their dusty little sedan into park. "We can't afford it."

Mikey blanched from the backseat.

He still hadn't told Leo about what had happened with Fong's glasses. And the involvement of Mikey's heel. He was too embarrassed. Which was as a whole, even more embarrassing.

Shrinking in his seat, Mikey looked out the car window at the Miyamoto residence with newfound doubt lacing into his head.

 _Don't mess up here,_ he told himself. _If we don't have money, we'll starve and I'll have to become one of those people on those survival reality shows who live in the woods and eat bugs to survive and don't have soap for their baths._

And what would he do without shampoo? Mikey loved shampoo. Being in a survival reality show would suck severely.

"I _like_ it when my hair smells like artificial strawberry," Mikey whispered dramatically. He earned a wary side eye from Raph.

"Hey Leo," Donnie said from the passenger seat. "You know what would really cut back the chances of me accidentally breaking anything?"

Raph wrinkled his nose. "If you say letting you do your college exam prep there, Don, I _swear_ —"

"Letting me do my college exam prep there."

Raph looked _agonized_. "How are we even related?"

Leo was busy on his phone, thumbs fast as he texted someone — Usagi, probably — but he smiled at his brothers, lifting his head. "I love your passion and drive for everything academia, Donnie, but you aren't allowed to bring SAT Prep to a get together like this."

"What about a date? I could have brought a date, right?"

"Yes, of course," Leo said, and at the same time Raph asked, "Was there anyone you wanted to ask?"

At Donnie's deadpan stare, Mikey almost laughed preemptively.

"Yeah, my book. It could have been a _study_ date. Ha! Get it?"

"Ugh, I'm disowning you," Raph groaned, rubbing his face. "What a bottom-tier joke. Thought you might have wanted to talk about someone you liked, and I could have given you tips, since I'm the only _not-single guy_ in this godforsaken car—"

Donnie cackled, clearly not _that_ upset about him not having his exam prep. Raph was still grumbling under his breath and Mikey thought he heard him calling standardized testing "Satan's toilet paper". Leo turned off the engine, tucking his phone into his pocket. Then he turned to look at Mikey.

"How's the cargo, captain? Don't tell me you ate it all."

Mikey grinned and held up the tupperware that had been sitting in his lap the entire car ride there. "The cargo is car-good!" He returned Leo's high-five, and added, "It's a good thing Raph wasn't holding onto the cookies, because _then_ it would be car-gone."

Raph didn't hesitate. "I'm disowning you too."

The bottom of the container was still warm from the freshly baked cookies that Mikey had made earlier that day. Not to brag, but he was _kind_ of a genius when it came to anything chocolate, thank to years of baking exploits in the kitchen.

"Awesome, so if we're all ready, let's go," Leo said, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"Murder party time," Donnie said way too lightly, and Leo scowled.

"Not funny, Donnie."

Donnie shrugged half-apologetically, getting out of the car. Mikey laughed nervously. Right… he had been trying _not_ to think about Yuuki Miyamoto on the car ride there. Memory of the man killing a yokai with a creepy fox mask covering half his face resurfaced, sending chills down his spine.

 _It'll be totally fine,_ Mikey reassured himself. _This is about Usagi, not his dad!_

Right! Plus, this was something he'd been looking forward to for a while! Parties were great, but parties with lots of _food_ were even better. What's more, this was going to go _way_ better than yesterday had been with his friends. He would just be really careful not to step on anyone's glasses… or get called stupid for voicing his opinions. Determined to think optimistic thoughts only, Mikey opened the car door and stepped out.

His foot immediately caught onto the edge of the curb, and he tripped.

"Watch the sidewalk!" Raph barked.

Mikey screamed, the cookies almost flying out of his grip.

Luckily, Leo caught him just in time, and instead of face-planting into the cement walkway, Mikey just face-planted into his brother's stomach instead.

"Sorry," he bleated, righting himself away from the edge of the sidewalk. His heart pounded against the tupperware clutched to his chest. Meeting Leo's amused face, Mikey piped up, "I almost killed the cookies."

"That would have been first-degree murder," Leo replied, tickling Mikey's ear with a gloved finger.

Looking at his untrustworthy legs, Mikey didn't resist when Raph swiped the cookies from him.

They made it up to the front porch, and the door swung open before any of them could ring the doorbell. From the entrance, a man about Leo's age with silver hair and rimless rectangular glasses stepped out, eyes locking on Leo.

Sounds of the Friendsgiving party spilled out, all gentle voices and laughter. A pop song played lowly behind the chatter. Something yummy-smelling wafted out, making Mikey's stomach growl quietly.

With one look at Leo, the stranger broke into a relieved smile. "You _made_ it."

Usagi stepped forward and met Leo with a hug. It was almost surreal to Mikey. This was _the_ Usagi Miyamoto that Leo had been talking about for ages, and finally Mikey was getting to meet him in person. His appearance wasn't too different from what Mikey had in his head from what he'd seen in Leo's photo gallery. Tonight, however, he looked a little extra spiffy, with a pulled-back hairstyle, his glossy purple dress shirt, and a pair of rich thick wool socks that all shouted money.

 _Oh, wow,_ Mikey thought, and tried not to look down at his own sweater.

"Thanks for inviting us. You've met my brothers, right?" Leo asked, stepping away to gesture to the rest of them on the porch.

"Uh, well, I've met Raphael and Donatello before. It's good to see you again," Usagi said formally, but his smile was genuine.

Raph nodded. "Sup, Usagi. We have cookies."

"You didn't — Leo, I said you didn't need to bother," Usagi said, meeting Leo's gaze with an argument in his eyes. Leo tilted his head and moved his eyebrows, urging him to take it. Usagi let out a puff of air, before accepting the cookies from Raph with a gracious smile. His eyes settled on Mikey, almost analytical. "And you're Michelangelo."

Mikey opened his mouth to say hello, but Usagi was already talking again, moving on.

"Please come inside, all of you," he said, opening the door wider. "Grab some food."

* * *

The grand dining table was stocked with food to pick from, yet it was not where everyone was eating. In a cozy take on common Thanksgiving dining, the party manner was that people were sitting wherever they wanted to eat — in the parlor room, the kitchen, the halls, or at the base of the stairs — laughing into napkins as they talked with friends and family. Mikey found it _charming_. There was plenty of room in the den in front of the fireplace, he noticed, but as soon as he and his brothers had their plates loaded, Usagi was already whisking them through a pair of double glass-patterned doors into a well-lit study.

"Welcome to the office room," Usagi said, turning around to look at them, plate of food in hand. "I hope it's okay that I've stolen you all away from the rest of the party. Leo and I usually come here to talk."

Stepping inside what looked like an entire _library_ , Mikey's mind was blown at how much the space looked like something straight from a storybook. A long desk sat in the center with maps spread across the surface, a big glossy globe standing proudly at the center. A tall oak grandfather clock stood behind the desk, as tall as the shelves that took up the walls on either side of it.

"This place is great. I appreciate the books," Donnie said firmly, walking over to the shelves immediately.

"And _I_ appreciate these bean bags," Raph said from the comfort of a bean bag near the window nook.

Mikey grinned and sat next to him, letting himself sink into the cushion. Once he was comfortable, he began to dig into his pizza. He was in the middle of stuffing his face when he looked up and caught Usagi staring at him. Mouth full, he smiled apologetically. Usagi turned away quickly, engaged in whatever Leo was saying about something college-related.

 _Oops_ , Mikey thought guiltily as he worked on chewing the rest of his bite. _I wonder if I like, grossed the dude out._

Luckily, conversation took off and no one was judging Mikey's sloppy eating as the others found their seats — Donnie at the window seat with his plate in his lap, Leo on a desk chair rolled close to where Usagi sat on a dark green chaise. The comforting chatter of the party filtered through the slightly ajar doors.

"So Donnie," Usagi spoke. "Leo tells me you've been occupied with college apps."

"It's — _yeah_ ," Donnie said, shaking his head in disbelief, before looking at Usagi after a moment. He looked surprised that Usagi had spoken to him. "It feels like a big decision to make."

"You're overthinking it," Raph said. "Just take a gap year."

Donnie rolled his eyes hard — not at Raph's idea, but Mikey knew it was because they'd had this exact conversation a million and three times already. It made Mikey glad that he had a few years before he had to think about that. He didn't even know what he wanted to _be_ in the future.

"You're super smart, Donnie," he piped up. "That means you can go anywhere, right?"

"I don't know about _anywhere_."

"It _is_ a big change, but… potentially rewarding. You should go wherever you want." Usagi glanced at the table covered in maps. "I really wanted to go somewhere abroad."

"Really? Why didn't you?"

"It didn't work out." But Usagi didn't explain further.

They were in the middle of laughing at some funny story Leo was telling when Mikey realized something. Usagi didn't like him. Not like it was a big deal — except it kind of was. Had Mikey messed up somehow?

 _No, it's just imagination,_ he reasoned. _It's nothing._

But when Mikey stood up to stretch, he almost lost balance and fell into the bookshelf behind him. Key word _almost_. Usagi's eyes darted to him and his eyebrows furrowed slightly, as if he were inconvenienced that Mikey had decided to move.

"Careful, kiddie," Leo said, digging into a piece of pumpkin pie.

"Sorry. I've been a little clumsy lately," Mikey admitted. The thought of yesterday still embarrassed him, but he felt okay saying those words out loud. Feeling brave, he added, "I'm not very graceful."

Usagi's gaze was calculating as he took Mikey in.

"I guess that means you're not like Leo."

Mikey wanted to shrink away. Instead of feeling better at the attempt to vocalize what he was feeling, he felt incredibly foolish. He could feel his cheeks heating up.

Leo snorted. "Stop."

"No, it's true. Leo's like a gazelle," Raph told Usagi.

Mikey stood up, heart pounding. "Uh, I should um, go get seconds."

He really just wanted to get out of the office, out from Usagi's critical gaze, as soon as possible. He was _so_ being judged. It wasn't a mistake, he was _sure_ of it. He just wasn't sure why. Mikey made his way to the door as fast as he could walking. No one would miss him, he decided, if he just hung out near the dining table buffet or in a bathroom somewhere for a little bit.

Except the glass-patterned doors swung open just as he was reaching for the handles.

 _Inward_.

As in, on his _face_.

Mikey gasped as pain licked up his nose. He clutched it with both hands, blinking rapidly as he tried to judge with his fingers whether it was still attached or not. Then he looked up to see the reason the doors had flung open so violently.

Mikey stared at the boy in front of him, open-mouthed.

No.

Oh, _no_.

Woody glared at him, recognition flickering in his eyes. " _You_."

"Me," Mikey agreed, slightly terrified.

A myriad of thoughts ran through his head. What was the notorious kid from school doing _here_? Weren't just friends and friends' families supposed to be here? Did Woody know Usagi? Did Woody know the mayor? Did Woody even _have_ friends?

Mikey and Woody stared at each other for a full five seconds, eyes wide. Seeing Woody's one green, one blue eye up close like this was tickling the back of Mikey's head for some reason, but he lowered his hands from his face and tried to remember his manners.

"Uh. Happy Thanksgiving?"

"You're bleeding."

"Oh." Mikey felt the trickle, and just in time clutched his nose again before any blood dripped on the floor. "Thanks."

Woody just stared at him, frozen with an expression of incredulity. His mouth was slightly parted, as if he were trying to think of something to say. Mikey's nose throbbed. It was nice to see that Woody's glare wasn't a permanent fixture to his face.

Out of the corner of his eye, Mikey saw Leo's head turn towards him, probably wondering why he was still standing in front of the door instead of going through it. Then in a flash, Leo was on his feet, running over to him.

"Why are you holding your face? Mikey, let me see. What happened? Let me see," he demanded, gently prying at Mikey's hands. Woody was blocked from Mikey's view. The room seemed to grow warmer — when had there been a chill? Leo's mouth dropped open in alarm, his eyes widening. His voice took on something loud and authoritative. "Napkins, we need napkins!"

Usagi was jogging over, a pile of clean napkins in hand. "Leo?"

"Bloody nose," was all Leo said to explain as he held the napkin up to stave off the flow.

"What?" Donnie yelped, alarmed.

Raph let out a half-laugh, but Mikey could hear the worry clear in his voice. "What the heck? _How?_ "

"You left me alone for ten seconds, that's how," Mikey said, making Raph and Donnie laugh.

Leo replaced the napkin, the old one coming away with an alarming amount of red. "Mikey, how much does it hurt, on a scale of one to ten?"

"Um, a… six?" The pain was starting to ebb away, a little.

Leo carefully touched it. "I don't think it's broken."

"I think I would be crying if it was broken," Mikey agreed.

"Was it from the door?" Usagi asked in shock.

"Lie down, he needs to lie down," Donnie said, and Leo let him lead Mikey away.

"I'm going to get some painkillers from the car," Leo said. "I think I have an emergency kit."

Usagi stopped him. "No, Leo. We have a bunch of stuff in a medicine cabinet upstairs. I can show you."

Mikey wanted to laugh at all the fuss he'd created, but then he heard Usagi add on, "I guess you weren't kidding when you said you're clumsy", and his heart sank as he did in the green chaise.

"I'm sorry," he said, hoping he didn't sound pitiful. "I didn't mean to get all bloody."

Donnie was already talking again. "You need water, Mikey. Sit tight, I'll go get that."

"I'll get you your seconds, buddy," Raph said.

Footsteps poured out of the office room, and Mikey was left in the silence.

Wow. That had all just happened, in like, _thirty seconds flat_.

Mikey breathed through his mouth for a few seconds, and he heard a quiet shuffle. Oh. He'd sort of forgotten about Woody.

The kid had apparently gone unnoticed by the others, and he now walked up and down along the wall of books in the study, his eyes searching.

"So," Mikey said, daring to break the silence. "You know the Miyamotos, huh?"

Woody's eyes snapped to him. "Leave me alone."

Wow.

Mikey watched for another moment as Woody peered between the books. His frown seemed to deepen with every second. Moments later he'd left the shelves and was pulling open the drawers of the desk.

What was he snooping around for?

Mikey trained his eyes up to the ceiling. Whatever. He didn't really feel like talking to Woody, and besides, it was pretty clear that he wasn't going to get much of an answer. Woody was way too difficult. He'd only stood up for Woody yesterday because no one else was being fair. And look where that had gotten him — all his friends hated him.

With the hand that wasn't holding his nose from gushing blood, he absentmindedly ran his knuckles over his heart. He wondered why his chest felt so heavy.

Because… so _what_ if he'd said something that no one liked? He was just being honest. He wasn't… it wasn't _stupid_. That's what everyone was always preaching, right? 'Honesty is the best policy'? Jennika and Jason shouldn't have _clawed into him_ like they had. Mikey grimaced, closing his eyes as he realized the feeling that had been bubbling within him, waiting to be accepted. He was mad.

And next Monday, when he saw them again, he'd give them a piece of his mind. He _would_.

 _No_ , Mikey corrected, clutching his napkin over his nose tighter. He could feel his resolve falling apart before it had even come together. _I'm not gonna do that._

Because even though he knew that it was _totally_ okay to have a different opinion, shame still licked up his heart every time he thought about it. Even more than breaking Fong's glasses, it was mortifying that he'd spoken his mind.

And maybe _that_ was stupid.

 _Maybe my feelings are broken,_ Mikey mused.

Goosebumps erupted fiercely over his arms and legs. Mikey opened his eyes in shock at the sudden icy chill, almost expecting to see a window letting in the outside snow and wind. But the window was shut.

Woody, however, was standing right above him.

"Oh," Mikey said, sounding dumb to his own ears. Woody wore a strange expression on his face, like he was trying to sneeze on him. His eyebrows were furrowed in a V. An awkward beat passed, and then Mikey threw him a bone. "Hey, dude. How can I help you?"

Woody looked away, his jaw set. "I am sorry," he gritted out. "Okay? I didn't know you would be there."

 _What_.

Then Mikey realized what the boy was talking about.

"Oh. It's, um, all good." Wow, an _apology_ from the notorious Woody Dirkins. A real one. Mikey couldn't believe it. He grinned and added, "At least now I can cross 'getting into a fight with a door' off my to-do list for today."

That would have made Renet laugh, but Woody's face contorted into a deeper frown. Distantly, Mikey wondered if the guy had ever smiled in his life.

"Why was _that_ on your to-do list?"

Mikey couldn't help the automatic grin that spread over his face at Woody's disturbed tone. He slowly sat up, lowering his napkin and testing out his nose. It had stopped bleeding. Maybe the sudden cold had helped. Was there a draft coming in from somewhere?

Shaking his head, Woody moved to another part of the study to look around. This time, he got close to the grandfather clock.

"It's not here," he murmured, frustration laced in his voice. "It's not _here_ , and I've looked everywhere else on this floor. I can't go up to the second floor without someone _stopping_ me."

"Did you lose something?" Mikey asked, standing up. "Maybe I can help you."

"Shut _up_."

Mikey paused at the harsh reaction. "You could have just said _no_ , dude," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" Woody looked him, glaring. Then he seemed to understand. "No, I wasn't talking to _you_."

 _Huh?_ They were the only two in the room — in the now _freezing_ room. Mikey could almost see his breath. _Holy pasta, why is it so cold? Did something happen to the heating?_ Based on the party chatter through the doors, it didn't sound like anyone had noticed. Maybe it was only in the study? Mikey took a couple steps towards the door, which Woody was nearby.

"No, _stop_ it! I'm not going to be tricked!" Woody's eyes were angry.

Mikey paused in mid-step, feeling like he was bearing witness to someone losing their marbles in real time. Who was tricking who? Had he stepped into some kind of improvisational skit with no audience? Was the plot just… _shout things and confuse people?_ Because if so, Woody deserved an Oscar for Best Actor. And whoever had set it up would make a great prankster.

Except Woody's palms were pressed to his forehead, and Mikey knew he wasn't faking. His face was contorted, like he couldn't stop hearing something in his own head. He stumbled backwards.

"Hey," Mikey said, jumping forward. "Are you—"

"STOP SHOUTING!" Woody tore out suddenly. "If I do it, will you _shut up?_ "

 _I don't think he's talking to me,_ Mikey thought in realization.

And then, when Woody lifted his head, Mikey had _another_ realization. Because Woody's eyes were now both blue. And the room was cold, _really_ cold, and Mikey didn't know how he hadn't realized it before.

_Do you want to make a promise with me?_

"It's Peter," Mikey breathed out. "You're talking to Peter. Woody — did you meet Peter's ghost at the mill?"

Without responding, Woody-possessed-by-Peter turned to the grandfather clock, and the little door that reflected him off its glass surface began to glow an eerie blue. It grew brighter and brighter until it was a light source that seemed to shut out all the other lights in the study.

"Woody!" Mikey gasped in fear, darting forward, squinting. "Where are you? _Woody!_ "

He reached out and grabbed something — the back of a shirt? — and felt himself be yanked forward. Both his shoulders grazed against something hard as he passed through something, but he couldn't see a thing. Then they were falling through the air. Despite his best efforts, he felt the fabric of Woody's shirt finally slip through his fingers, Woody's scream consumed by the blinding light.

* * *

The glow of the grandfather clock door faded and Mikey could finally see again.

Mikey slowly sat up, glad to see he was a-okay. The fall hadn't been as intense as going through a yokai summoning or banishing circle — those were like roller coasters without any seatbelts or the concept of gravity — since it had felt more like he'd just tripped down a six-foot hole, but he'd landed on the soft carpet of the study. Or… well, it was the same carpet as the one in the study, but he definitely wasn't in the same room as before.

Or… was he? In the study, the grandfather clock had been to his right, and the desk to his left. And now… the grandfather clock was to his left. And the door was far right. And the wall was on his left side now, way too close — and why did the window seat behind him look like it was tilted?

 _Wait, wait, wait,_ Mikey realized, his brain catching on. _It's all flipped. Like a reflection._

"Why did you grab onto me?" Woody demanded, sitting up in front of Mikey. "Why did you have to follow me here?"

Woody was definitely talking to _him_ now, not Peter. Mikey had to take a second to process that, and then another second, because that really wasn't the response he'd been expecting.

"I thought you needed help," Mikey admitted. "Are you okay?"

"Do you mean did the stupid supernatural finally shut up so I can _think_ for a second? Yes," Woody grumbled, standing up. "But your _help_ isn't needed. Or even wanted."

Mikey had to admit that he hadn't really had a plan when he'd grabbed onto Woody's shirt. It had just been automatic. And probably not the best response to save Woody from whatever the glow was, because now the both of them were _here_ instead of where they were, and what's more, Mikey couldn't hear the sounds of the party anymore.

"Where are we?" he asked. "What _happened?_ "

Woody reached over and touched the grandfather clock's glass door. "We're in the reflection. Obviously."

In the _reflection?_ Holy mashed potatoes.

 _How is that even possible?_ "How is that even possible?" Mikey exclaimed, voicing his thoughts.

Woody threw him an irritated look. "The supernatural world still _surprises_ you? How long since you got the sight?"

"The what?"

Woody looked affronted. "The _sight_. You know, since you're able to see them."

Mikey blinked slowly. "A year."

"A year," Woody repeated. He frowned. "How did you develop abilities within a _year?_ "

"Abilities?" Mikey was at a loss, trying to keep up with the boy. "Whatchu _talking_ about, dude?"

"Don't play dumb," Woody demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. "You have to have _something_ if Lord Simultaneous can't _shut up_ about you."

"W-Who?"

"Ugh. I don't have time for this," Woody grumbled, and made his way to the door. "My head hurts, and the sooner I can get Peter out, the _better_. I swear, this is all becoming a lot stupider by the minute."

There was too much to unpack in all of what Woody had just said. Lord Simultaneous? Abilities? Sight? Whoever Woody was, he sounded like he was pretty familiar with the supernatural world. Mikey had so. Many. Questions.

He leapt up, bounding after Woody through the doors of the flipped-study, coming to a stop in the flipped-den. There weren't any _people_ , but clothes shaped like people hovered in the air, along with plates and cups, as if they were being held. They were moving around, and Mikey gasped in horror, feeling faint.

"Ghosts!"

"No!" Woody snapped from across the room, making his way to the stairs. "Can't you figure it out just by looking? Those are all the other people here! Reflections can't hold people's souls!"

"Why are they all invisible?" Mikey asked, running up the stairs after Woody, trying to make sense of it all.

"I _just_ said," Woody snapped, climbing up the stairs. "Reflections can't hold people's souls. What exists in this plane is just a duplicate of the original, but people can't be duplicated, so you can't see or hear them. And they can't see or hear us at all because we're _in_ the reflection. If they happen to look into anything that reflects, they'll be able to see us in it, even though they won't be able to see us next to them."

That… that sort of made sense. Kind of.

But also, it didn't.

Mikey wanted to scream.

On the second floor, Woody began to walk through the hallway, opening a door to a bedroom and walking in like he owned the place. Mikey followed tentatively, still having no clue what Woody was looking for as the boy started to rummage through the closet, which was mostly full of fancy jackets and spare shoes that seemed to be gathering dust, indicating that it was probably a guest bedroom.

So was the _real_ guest bedroom flipped from what Mikey was seeing right now?

Mikey bit his lip. "I don't get it. Are we still in the grandfather clock?"

"We're not _in the grandfather clock._ We're in the reflections. We can enter and leave from anything that reflects. If you saw Peter at the cider mill, you _should_ have figured it out. He _travels_. _Through_. _Reflections_ ," Woody said, each word tight and hard as he slammed the closet door shut and walked out the room in a flash, grumbling under his breath, "Where does the old man keep it?"

The mirror of the gift shop. So Peter had been there.

"So wait, what, at the cider mill, Peter came up to you," Mikey clarified, jogging after Woody to keep up with the boy's pace. "And, and, obviously you can see them—"

"Obviously," Woody muttered, rolling his eyes hard.

"And then he asked you a question, didn't he? He asked me something about promises and I said no, because what the noodles was that even supposed to mean, you know? So he disappeared and left me alone and I didn't see him after that. But he went to you next, right? And _you_ said yes, didn't you. And that's why he's possessing you! Oh, holy _guac_ , am I talking to Woody right now or Peter?"

"Me! Woody! God, you're so annoying," Woody snapped, pushing into another room and repeating the process from before. Mikey looked around, noting that they were in another guest room.

"Why would you even say _yes_ to that? Even I said no," Mikey blurted. "I mean, no offense. It's just that you seem like you have more knowhow than me."

Woody grumbled, getting up and pushing past him.

Mikey didn't stop. He didn't think he _could_ , not when his mind was so _blown_. "What are you even planning on doing with Peter inside your head? What if he takes control of you and you become his flesh puppet?"

"Ew, flesh puppet."

"See, that's exactly what _I_ said!"

Woody tore into another room, and this time it wasn't a guest room. This room had double wooden doors, and the elegant cream wallpaper and yellow bedspread looked fit for a king. Or… a mayor.

"Finally, his room," Woody said, and walked in, not even minding that he was dragging his dirty shoes across the Persian carpet.

Mikey didn't move, staring at the patterns on the walls and the carpet and the curtains in the big room. It didn't feel right to go into someone's private space when he was trapped in a reflection. Or, at all, really, because this wasn't his house and there were a lot of things he could trip and break.

A desk stood to the side of the bed, the seat closer to the window and facing the doorway. Woody started to go through it, anger alight in his eyes.

"Uh. This has been great and all, but can we get back to the party now?" Mikey asked awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn't know how to tell Woody that he was being massively creepy by going through someone's things without their permission. "It's just that I have a feeling my brothers might be worried about me."

Woody paused in his rampage for a moment, then looked up at Mikey, a pained look of guilt in his eyes.

"We can't. Peter won't let us until I find the thing I came here for. It's part of the deal we made."

Mikey felt something in his stomach drop.

"That's why he's letting me use his powers to be in the reflections. I can _search_ , and no one can stop me. But he's _bossy_ , and he won't let me do things _my way,_ " Woody exploded, throwing a lamp over the edge of the desk.

Mikey winced at the shatter, and the absolute mess Woody was making of Yuuki Miyamoto's desk. He shuddered, and not just from how _cold_ Peter's presence had made being around Woody.

"They won't trace it back to us."

 _Is that supposed to make it okay?_ Mikey thought in horror.

"Dude!"

"It's _not_ a big deal! Can you tone down your hero complex?" Then Woody groaned. "It's not here, either!"

"What isn't here?" Mikey pressed. "If it's our ticket out of here, I'll help you look."

Woody's eye twitched. Obviously he didn't want to tell.

Mikey threw his hands up. "Come on, spill the beans, Woody. I can help."

A darkness fell over Woody's eyes. "Why is this any of your business?"

"Oh, I dunno, maybe because we're _stuck here?_ Because you made a deal with some super-duper shady ghost—"

Woody groaned. "I don't need to tell you, this is _my_ mission!" He shoved past Mikey as he walked out of the mayor's room, walking by the grand banister that overlooked the foyer. "Peter and I made a deal, and that's all I'm going to tell you. So get it into your head, and stop asking so many questions! I'm not your little supernatural tutor or whatever!"

Mikey was growing frustrated. "I know that."

His face was growing hot and irritated. Why was everyone yelling at him lately? First his friends, now Woody. Mikey was just trying to be _helpful_. He also didn't want to be stuck in this reflection place forever. He still needed to make amends with Fong the best he could, because at least if he couldn't fix any of his friendships, he could at least start with the glasses. But he couldn't as long as he was here, _stuck_. Which was actually, all Woody's fault.

"Good. Then stop being in my face."

Mikey balled his fists as Woody turned away. "You know, it's a good thing I stood up for you yesterday, because there's _no_ way you could have won anyone over yourself, with how _awful_ you are. You don't even need to be possessed by an evil spirit."

Woody was almost down a new hallway, but the next thing Mikey knew, the angry kid was running straight at him, shoving him into the banister. Hard.

Something cracked behind Mikey's spine and he sunk down, unable to breathe. The banister. He'd broken the banister.

"You think I needed your help with them?" spat Woody. "You think I wanted help from a _fake_ people-pleaser who doesn't have a brain of his own? I don't _want_ your help. Not with supernatural stuff, and definitely not with things at school."

Mikey couldn't get a word out. The wind had gotten knocked out of him.

"And because I'm sick of you following me around, you're going to stay here," Woody said, and pulled something out of his pocket.

A Sharpie… and a pad of sticky notes.

Why was this familiar?

Woody wrote something down, then pulled it off the pad. "I'm better than the first time we met. It should work on you _this_ time."

Before Mikey could figure out what Woody was talking about, the kid was slapping the sticky note to the front of his sweater. Immediately, Mikey felt all his muscles become rigid.

Like ice.

Similar to how Peter had done it before, at the mill.

Mikey looked down with his eyes — he couldn't bend his neck at all — and saw what had been scribbled on the note in Woody's messy scrawl.

 _FREEZE_.

Just like… that kid yokai hunter had used on Mikey before, back in May.

_Woody can do the same thing as that kid?_

Mikey couldn't even gasp as the shocking revelation hit him. His face had been hidden back then, in May, but there was no doubt about it now. That had been _him_. Woody was the kid yokai hunter part of the Miyamoto Clan. The one who summoned yokai just to fight them. And Woody had recognized Mikey and Renet probably from the start of high school.

Was that why he was always glaring at them?

Anger flitted through Mikey as he struggled to move his limbs, his fingers, his toes. Anything. He couldn't even breathe properly; it was only coming in as spurts.

Woody capped his Sharpie. "I'll find the thing I came here for, _then_ I'll let you go and we'll both be back in the regular world. But you're lucky you're not a supernatural."

Then he tore away down the hall, leaving Mikey as still as a statue against the broken banister.

* * *

The hallway he'd been left in was pretty to look at, at least, with its nice decor against the mint green walls and the side tables with the flower vases. His favorite thing to look at, though, was the big picture frame of a graphite and watercolor rendering of the city of Eastman. The way the artist had painted over the scenic view of the city with a dull blue brush, looked like a fantasy setting, not the usually regular town Mikey had grown up in. But art was fun in the ways that it could be interpreted, and the way Mikey was now looking at the blue that was cast over the canvas in an arc was with the understanding that it was the dome-shaped barrier that kept yokai out.

For the past fifteen minutes, Mikey had been sitting frozen under Woody's spell. His phone had buzzed six times in his pocket, which sucked, because the one time he was in trouble and _had_ his phone, he couldn't even move a finger. Leo, Raph, and Donnie were probably worried that he was having diarrhea in the bathroom somewhere. How were they going to know he was in this little reflection world that Peter could travel through? How would they even _know?_

 _Woody is a butt,_ Mikey determined as he looked at the painting of Eastman for the sixty-forth time.

It was a good painting. It made Mikey want to play around with watercolor. Maybe he'd try to paint Klunk, if he and Renet could get their dear cat-yokai friend to stay still long enough.

 _Or we'd just take a picture and work from that,_ Mikey reasoned. _Then he felt enraged. But you know what we wouldn't do? We wouldn't freeze him to stay still against his will!_

Only able to move his eyes, Mikey looked down at the sticky note charm thing that was still stuck to him, and then back up to look at the painting of Eastman for the sixty- _fifth_ time. This time, however, he noticed something new.

Why did it have hinges?

On the side of the painting there were three unmistakable little hinges, like there would be on a door, but much smaller in size. Almost unnoticeable, but as it turns out, not so unnoticeable on the sixty-fifth time you look at it.

 _Maybe when you're the mayor with as many secrets as Yuuki Miyamoto, you can afford some nice storage space behind your paintings,_ Mikey thought as his phone buzzed again.

Looking down, he could see it buzzing, the whole screen lit up behind the fabric of his pants pocket. Mikey listened and watched it buzz, feeling panic overcome him as he sat there, helpless. He couldn't even see who was calling him, which only added to his worries.

It buzzed again.

Oh, poor Leo. Mikey had gone and gotten a bloody nose and then he'd disappeared on him.

 _Both of those things were Woody's fault, actually,_ Mikey thought in a quiet vengeance. _He better hope the next time I see him, I don't have pie. Because I will be throwing it at him. In his little angry face._

Regardless, the blue was a really calm color to look at. It had been completely separated from the chaos that had happened fifteen minutes ago between him and Woody. Art was really powerful that way. The first dozen times Mikey had looked at the color, he'd equated it to remorse at how he hadn't done a side snapping kick or gone into a defensive stance when Woody had pushed him. He was the son of a late martial arts instructor, and for what? Decoration on his non-existent resume? But now, Mikey looked at the blue and reveled in the quietness that it held.

And maybe that was why Mikey realized that nothing had been Woody's fault.

Okay, well, _sure_ — Woody had made a deal with a ghost. Fine. But Woody hadn't forced him into this place. Mikey had just accidentally followed. And Woody had apologized for his bloody nose. That had been nice.

But Mikey had lost his temper and said something to hurt him. That had been _mean_. Like Jennika and Jason had been.

Sure, throwing him into a banister wasn't nice, either. But why tally points over who'd made more questionable decisions? Woody wasn't easy to get along with, but the least Mikey could totally do was _not_ fight fire with fire. Slowly, his anger and frustration ebbed away.

His phone buzzed again. He let it ring, wondering when Woody would find the thing he was looking for. He wondered what he _could_ be looking for. If he was in the Miyamoto Clan, why was he ransacking the leader's home in such an underhanded way?

 _I wish I could ask Donnie,_ Mikey thought as his phone continued to buzz, making his clothes buzz too, a little. He could feel his sweater shift a bit.

Also, Woody had mentioned Lord Simultaneous. Mikey knew that name, even though he'd been caught off guard when Woody had first brought it up. Why did Lord Simultaneous — which was a really crazy name, by the way — know Mikey? Wasn't he a bad guy? Didn't he _torture_ yokai?

His phone buzzed for the millionth time, almost falling out of his pocket. Mikey looked down, and nearly gasped. He couldn't, because the spell, but he would have. Because while his phone had been buzzing away, his sweater had moved a significant amount, nearly knocking the sticky note off.

It still hung by a corner, the magic strong.

 _Please buzz again,_ Mikey begged his phone mentally. _Leo, Raph, Donnie… please call again. I think one more time will do._

Off in the distance, Mikey could hear Woody trashing something. Man, and at the beginning of the evening Mikey had been scared that _he_ would break something. Woody had the whole department covered, no fear for repercussions at all.

Seriously, what was he looking for that Yuuki Miyamoto owned?

His phone buzzed again. _Yes!_

The sticky note finally fell off, and his body relaxed all at once. Mikey grabbed the sticky note and ripped it to shreds, tossing it in the little recycling can neatly disguised as part of the wall decor under one of the side tables. Hey, looking at the same thing for fifteen minutes gave a person time to find the recycling.

He stood up and walked over to the painting and pulled at it. Just like the way he'd deduced it would from _staring_ at it for a million years, it clicked off from whatever locking mechanism held it in place, and swung open like a door. He could hear Woody groaning in frustration from down the hall. Mikey, however, just blinked at what he saw.

It _was_ a storage space. And a single broken fox mask, perfectly flipped from what Mikey had seen that day back in May on Yuuki Miyamoto's face, sat in the middle of it. Red and white and yellow.

Mikey shivered. Yuuki Miyamoto had murdered a yokai with this mask on. The _last_ person he wanted to give it to was Woody

 _He's just going to use it on you,_ Mikey heard the more logical side of his brain say. _Don't show it to him!_

But what other choice did they have? Woody would bring the house down — and not in a good way — before he ever slowed down and cooled his own mind off.

So against his better judgment, Mikey called out, "Yo, Woody. Are you looking for a mask, by any chance?"

The slamming of drawers from the other room stopped, and Woody's footfalls grew louder as he ran back into the hallway where Mikey was at lightning speed, his eyes alert and guarded.

"How did you get my spell—" Woody cut himself off, staring at the open picture and the mask that sat behind it.

From the look on his face, Mikey knew that the mask was what Woody had been looking for all along. Stepping aside, he gestured for Woody to go ahead.

"This is a trick," Woody said with a snarl. "You have the real mask, and this is a fake. You're going to use it on me the moment I have my back turned!"

Which was a great plan for the future, if Mikey ever needed to pull a fast one on someone. But he doubted it.

"Why would I even do that? I just want to get back to the party. I need _you_ , not the other way around."

Woody stared at him for a second, then the mask, then warily he asked, "How did you get my spell off?"

"Uh, I'll keep that a secret. In case you ever try to use it on me a _third_ time."

Woody didn't laugh the way Mikey was. Carefully, he reached for the mask, and plucked it off the storage space. Mikey swung the painting shut, letting it click in place. He tried not to think about the fact that he was technically helping a theft happen.

Woody tucked the mask onto his belt, and Mikey followed him downstairs, because according to Woody, they didn't want to be seen coming from there. Mikey couldn't agree more — and he hadn't even been the one to trash anything. Back in the mirrored study, Woody held out his arm as they stood in front of the grandfather clock. A good a place as any to reappear.

"Okay, grab onto my arm." Woody's tone was a far cry from friendly, but at least they weren't in a shouting match with each other.

Mikey did so, and with his other hand, Woody tapped the glass. Just like before, it glowed and glowed until Mikey couldn't see anything, and then they were back.

Noise from the party fell onto Mikey's ears, and as he sat up to look at the grandfather clock, he'd never been happier to see the Roman Numerals the right way, not reversed — it didn't look like the count was going 1, 2, 3, 6, 5, 4 anymore. He was almost moved to tears.

"Home sweet home," Mikey sighed. Woody stared at him.

"It was 'home sweet home' in the reverse world, too," he said suddenly, then looked embarrassed at himself.

Mikey blinked. "What?"

"Uh. In the reverse world, 'home sweet home' is the same thing reversed," Woody muttered. "Because the words… they just… yeah."

 _Oh holy cheese cubes. Did Woody just make a joke? Do I laugh? Will he hit me if I laugh?_ Before Mikey could decide how to express his joy at such a crafty joke, Woody winced, his hands rushing up to grip his head.

"Whoa," Mikey said, unsure of what to do. "Are you okay? Is Peter trying to _un-possess_ you now?"

Woody let out a garbled cry of pain. "I don't think so."

"But he has to! He did your part of the deal!" Something dawned on Mikey. "Wait a second. If you _both_ made promises to each other… and he agreed to lend you his powers for your search for the mask… what did he ask from _you_? Woody?"

"It was — it was nothing!" Woody struggled as if he were fighting against a migraine. "It was — something about his — a chance to _honor_ his parents or something — I thought I was just going to have to go visit their graves!" Mikey watched as Woody's skin became paler, eyes darker. Woody's words came out in a stuttering rush. "He's trying to — to take over my — my body! _Stop it!_ I never gave you _permission_ , you _moron!_ "

Mikey didn't know what to do. He looked around for ideas, unsure if he needed to run or hide. Or one after the other. Woody suddenly went quiet, his arms dropping to his sides. Mikey held up his arms, taking on a defensive stance this time. Except when Woody raised his head, with two sunken in eyes with softly glowing irises from the blackness. His mouth — using _Woody's_ mouth — twisted into a smile.

 _Creepy_.

"Woody?" Mikey whispered.

Peter-possessing-Woody tilted his head.

"Time to go find Mommy and Daddy," he said in a whisper. Woody's regular voice echoed in the background, his vocal chords being used against his will.

And then Peter and Woody — Poody? Poo for short? — disappeared. Completely. Just _poof_ , like a ghost do.

Mikey was left staring at the space where Poo had been moments ago. _Holy lasagna._

* * *

"Mikey! Where did you go off to?" Leo asked as soon as Mikey rushed into his arms. Mikey had torn out of the study room, across the den, and into the kitchen in a panicked sprint, because _Peter_ was in control now. Whatever that meant, it couldn't be good. "Was it the bathroom? We were going to start calling you."

"Um," Mikey started, but he paused.

 _Start_ calling him? Who had been calling him when he was under Woody's freeze spell, then? Mikey pulled out his phone and woke the screen up.

_17 missed calls from Renet._

Mikey felt a little scared at that. Why had Renet needed to call him that many times? Usually the two of them just texted each other.

But he didn't have time to call her back. He grabbed Leo's hand. "Poo is on the loose!"

Leo winced. "I had a sinking feeling you might have diarrhea, Mikey. It might be best to lay off the dairy products. Or do you want to go home?"

"No!" As mortifying as it was for Leo to assume his bowel status in _public_ , Mikey had to clarify. "I don't have diarrhea!"

"That's a relief. How's your nose? When we couldn't find you, Usagi went back upstairs to put the painkillers back—"

"It's Woody. He went on the field trip too, and he's—"

"Leo," came a call from behind them, and Mikey turned to see Usagi standing in the kitchen doorway, his face slack and haunted.

Immediately, Leo was reaching out a hand for him, his voice becoming suddenly worried.

"Usa? What's wrong?"

"Someone ransacked the upstairs," Usagi said, face pale. "I went to return the medicine, but… someone broke in, I think. I couldn't find any broken windows."

Leo's eyes widened in shock.

" _What?_ " he said, only to be echoed by Raph and Donnie, both of them having found Leo and Mikey and Usagi in the kitchen.

Usagi shakily sat down on a barstool, keeping his voice low so as to not cause a scene.

"I need to call my dad, get him to come home from the office. End the party. Or not, I don't—"

"You need to call the _cops_ ," Leo said in a hush.

The house was suddenly feeling colder, and as Mikey looked around, he could see that he wasn't the only one this time who was feeling it. The other guests were rubbing their arms up and down in confusion. Mikey glanced towards the kitchen window, and his heart skipped a beat. There was no snow outside, yet the window was covered in ice.

"I don't think the cops will be of much help," Mikey blurted. He winced when everyone looked at him, especially Usagi. "I know who broke your stuff upstairs."

" _Who?_ " they all asked.

Mikey hesitated, knowing that he was about to get Woody in a lot of trouble. But even if Usagi didn't like him, and being the bearer of bad news probably wasn't going to improve that, he knew he had to share the truth. It didn't feel bad to snitch, especially since Usagi was looking so freaked out. "Woody."

"Woody? As in Dirkins?" Usagi asked, bewildered.

"That kid who gave you the bloody nose?" growled Raph.

"Ah, yeah. He apologized for that, though."

Everyone looked at each other, their eyes worried and alarmed.

"How bad is the damage?" Donnie asked.

"Pretty… thorough. I'm going to call his parents," Usagi decided, pulling out his phone. "I haven't seen either of them at the party, so they might not know he's here." After a pause, he looked around. "Where _is_ he, actually? I should probably talk to him first."

Mikey didn't want to blurt out the truth in front of Usagi — it would sound crazy if he just said something like _the house is haunted_ , right? He tugged on Leo's sleeve, eying him hard enough to get Raph and Donnie's private attention, too.

But Leo beat him to it. "Where did you see Woody last?"

"Study, but he literally disappeared."

Leo frowned. "Mikey, you don't have to protect him, okay? He's in some serious trouble here."

"I'm _not_. I'm trying to protect everyone _else_ from him! He saw Peter on the field trip yesterday!" Mikey whispered. "And he's possessed right now! And I don't know what's going to happen!"

Leo, Raph, and Donnie all exchanged glances, their eyes wide.

"You mean…," Raph started. "Like _possessed_ possessed?"

Mikey nodded. "Total flesh puppet."

"My phone isn't working," Usagi said, turning back to face them. "Calls aren't going through."

"Is the heater not working, Usagi?" an elderly woman, one of the guests, asked politely. "It's just that I got a bit of a chill!"

"That is really weird. It should be working," Usagi said, looking flustered.

Someone screamed, and all heads turned to a woman, pointing at the walls. The ice that Mikey had noticed before on the window had spread, and now the blue glass-like ice was stretching outwards more and more and more, encapsulating the expanse of the walls and the ceilings and the floors. People yelped as the ice touched them, and they climbed onto the furniture. Mikey gasped, and clambered onto the counter as his brothers found stools. Mikey couldn't think of any explanation for what was happening. He looked at Leo for help, but Leo looked just as lost.

After a moment, the crackling, haunting noise of the entire house being encased in ice settled, silence taking over.

Usagi was the first one to break it.

"Oh my gosh," he whispered faintly. "My house is haunted."

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! let me know what you thought:)
> 
> if you wanna bug me on [tumblr](https://adelfie.tumblr.com/), I'd be honored.


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